Protégé: Chosen
by Andrea13 and PersephoneKore
Summary: AU from TPM. Master Dooku steps in to offer to train Anakin Skywalker.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction based on the Star Wars movies and various pieces of the EU. No undue claim nor any material profit is expected or intended. There will be several verbatim quotes, including the first five lines of dialogue as well as certain phrases the characters seem prone to quoting. The subject of repetition will eventually be addressed in the story as well._

* * *

"He will not be trained," said Master Windu. His voice was deep and the words seemed very heavy.

Anakin couldn't believe his ears. For this, he'd left his mom behind with Watto? He could tell Master Windu didn't like him any better than Obi-Wan did, but he'd done all their tests. He'd done them perfectly! ...Just about.

"No?" Qui-Gon sounded incredulous. Qui-Gon was nice. Qui-Gon had said he should be trained, although Anakin was starting to wonder whether that was a good idea, if most Jedi were like the Council, and sat in shadowy rooms asking questions and making ominous remarks.

"He is too old. There is already too much anger in him," Master Windu went on.

Anakin scowled before he caught himself. Of course he was angry. They'd put him through all those tests and then said it didn't matter because he was too old? They knew how old he was before they started!

"He is the Chosen One," Qui-Gon said with some heat. "You must see it."

"Clouded, this boy's future is." Anakin still couldn't figure out what species Master Yoda was. The old green being nodded, wispy white hair snagging on the edge of his robe. "Masked by his youth."

First he was too old, now his future was masked by his youth? He'd thought Jedi were supposed to be wise. He didn't think that meant not making any sense.

Qui-Gon drew himself up, opening his mouth.

A deeper voice than Master Windu's came from the shadows by the door. "I will train the boy, then. I take Anakin Skywalker as my Padawan learner."

The Council's heads came up; Qui-Gon whirled, and Anakin thought that Obi-Wan had huffed a little, as if he hadn't been expecting this but thought he should have, before he turned too.

The owner of the voice strode out of the shadows. He wore all dark brown, and was tall and dark-haired with touches of silver, and his robe draped from his shoulders like a prince's cloak and whispered after his boots along the smooth floor. He paced across the room, and Anakin thought he moved like Qui-Gon, relaxed and easy and sure he was in the right place, but the whole effect was much more intimidating. He stopped and looked down at Anakin. "Unless you refuse me?"

Anakin stared up at him. "Who _are_ you?"

Qui-Gon coughed slightly. "Ah, Anakin, this is Master Dooku. He's a very respected Jedi Master, and he's done an excellent job at training several past padawans." His voice was slightly wry, but his eyes twinkled a little as he looked from Dooku to Anakin. "Including me."

"Oh!" Well, that was a good thing, then... wasn't it? "Pleased to meet you," Anakin said, offering a hand.

Master Dooku gave him what Anakin felt was a quietly doubtful look, like maybe he hadn't been expecting Anakin to remember his manners under the circumstances. He shook hands after a moment. "Likewise." His voice was very dry indeed.

"He is also," Master Yoda said, "not invited to this meeting!"

Dooku shrugged and bowed in the same sleek motion. "I followed Qui-Gon in. No one disputed my presence until now."

"Because _quiet_, you kept, Apprentice," Yoda retorted tartly.

"It was not necessary for me to speak, then. It is now. Does anyone contest my right to train this boy?"

"Already said he would not be trained, we did," Yoda grumbled.

"Yet the Council is not in charge of providing training once a child is taken as a Padawan." Dooku looked down at Anakin. "And he is, as it happens, old enough for that."

"I don't think it is wise," Master Windu said, "to start training him so late. He's young for a Padawan, but old enough, that's true. But he is some years past the age we've found preferable for the start of Jedi training." But Anakin noticed that Master Windu didn't say yes, I contest it, and thought that might mean something.

"The age we have found preferable," Dooku mused. "Master Yoda, how old were you when you began Jedi training?"

Master Yoda barked a laugh. "Adult, yes. But many centuries ago that was!"

"And it is only in recent centuries that we have begun training so early as a rule. Many of our greatest Jedi of the past begun their training as adults, even as you did, my Master."

"Reasons there were for making the change," Master Yoda said. "And not an adult is Anakin, either. Older than the time it is easiest to learn, old enough to have had other things in life become dear to him, not old enough to know in full what he is giving up."

"I knew when I left," Anakin protested. "I left my _mom_. I'm not a little kid. I knew what that meant!"

"Master Yoda is nearly nine hundred years old," murmured Dooku, "and spends as much of his time as possible with children under six... or the equivalent stage of development for other species. He has an unusual perspective."

"Well, he doesn't have to act like I don't know anything," Anakin grumbled, looking around the Council circle fiercely. "You knew how old I was before you tested me. Master Qui-Gon said I could be a Jedi, and Master -- Master Dooku thinks so too. _He_ wants to train me. And I'll -- I'll let him." He looked up at Dooku suddenly, anxious. "Is there anything special I'm supposed to say?"

"There's a... bonding ceremony," Dooku said, sounding very slightly strangled. "Let us begin."

"The Council," Master Windu interrupted in his deep voice, making Anakin glare a little, "has not given its permission."

"The Council," Dooku retorted dryly, "may advise all it likes, may even command, but the choice of a padawan is a Master's alone in the end." He turned back to Anakin and held out his hands.

"This explains so much," Obi-Wan breathed.

Anakin resisted the urge to stick out his tongue, which would be rude, and put his hands in Dooku's instead.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I take you, Anakin Skywalker, as my padawan learner," Dooku recited formally, looking the boy in the eye as the rest of the room disappeared from around him. He'd recited this oath four times, the first time with Qui-Gon, now standing as a powerful Jedi Master with a padawan of his own beside him. The second, elsewhere in the galaxy, fighting to protect the innocent and defend the way of life Dooku had taught him about. The third was somewhere in this building, even now patiently teaching a roomful of Jedi initiates how to defend themselves in a perilous world. The fourth...

The words almost didn't come for a moment. The fourth was dead, horribly dead, and if he'd trained her better...

But the boy wasn't a part of that, and he needed training. Dooku finished the oath resolutely.

There was a moment of silence.

Anakin stared up at Dooku with wide eyes.

Obi-Wan leaned forward hurriedly and began whispering in the boy's ear. Anakin swallowed and began to repeat his words. "I accept you as my Master..."

Unorthodox it might have been, but they managed to finish. At the end of it, Master Yoda heaved a huge sigh. "Wish you well, we do," he said quietly.

Dooku bowed. "Thank you, Master." He did mean it, arguments aside. "Are we dismissed?"

"Much you have to do now," Yoda said. "Go, all of you." He made a shooing motion with his stick. One or two of the Council members looked as if they might like to protest, but no one quite did.

"That was unexpected," Qui-Gon said, after they were halfway down the hall. "I thought you said you weren't planning to take another Padawan."

"I was following the promptings of the Force," Dooku said coolly. "Evidently I should be training him -- planned or not." He glanced sideways at Qui-Gon. "Besides, I suspected you were about to do something foolish."

Qui-Gon met Dooku's eyes, raised his eyebrows and said nothing for a moment, then, "Well, my Padawan seems to be under the impression I argue with the Council too much, but I'm not sure how much of an improvement he found it to have you take it up instead."

Dooku snorted. "I was arguing with the Council before he was born."

Qui-Gon smiled. "I know."

"You still don't do it enough," Dooku added, making Obi-Wan's eyes widen alarmingly. Dooku looked down at his new padawan appraisingly. "Well... Anakin. You seem spirited enough, at least."

"Um... thank you, sir." Spirited or not, Anakin looked a little daunted by this latest development.

"Master," Dooku corrected, not unkindly.

"...Master." Anakin frowned slightly.

"The Council was right about one thing, Padawan. You're coming to Jedi training much later than the other younglings. You have much to learn to catch up even to your age group, and most of them are not yet padawans." Dooku sighed. "Fortunately I relish a challenge. Are you a hard worker?"

Anakin tensed up a little more. "Yes..."

Dooku eyed him. "You seemed to have enough to say before the Council. Well. We'll have to get started immediately. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, if you'll excuse us?"

"By all means." Qui-Gon waved them off, offering Dooku a slight bow and Anakin a reassuring smile.

They heard the faint chime of Qui-Gon's commlink as they walked away, Anakin still frowning slightly.

Dooku steered the boy rapidly through the various administrative details of his initiation into the Jedi Order -- clothing, the traditional boy-Padawan haircut for human males, the request for new quarters. Anakin was strangely quiet, which would have been fine if it were a peaceful and respectful sort of silence, but it seemed wary and resentful instead, and Dooku didn't like it. He tried not to allow this to put him on edge, but the warning about anger came back to him, and he wondered abruptly if he should have taken that more seriously after Komari...

...He wasn't failing to take it seriously, and the urgings of the Force had been quite distinct, if perplexing.

The new quarters were to be available by nightfall, but meanwhile Dooku took Anakin back to his currently assigned rooms, with it in mind to begin a lesson. "Sit," he said, and suited action to word by lowering himself to the floor.

He glanced up and frowned. Anakin had remained standing, and his shoulders were set with a level of tension that appeared likely to take up at least the first few hours of any attempt at instruction.

After a moment, Anakin folded somewhat abruptly, mimicking Dooku's position approximately but with no relaxation whatsoever. "Am I supposed to ask you questions?"

"You are a padawan learner now. Your primary task for the next decade or so is to learn how to be a Jedi. To do that, you will need to ask questions. There will be times, of course, I will expect you to devise how to solve a problem yourself, without questions, and particularly at first there will be times you must obey me without question." A pause, then almost amused, "Which is a roundabout way of saying you can ask me a question now if you wish."

"Uh," said Anakin, "good." He swallowed, and then asked in a rush, "Why am I supposed to call you Master? Everybody here keeps saying it, but it's-- I know Qui-Gon won me on a bet with Watto but he said Jedi don't keep slaves."

"Qui-Gon _won_ you?" Dooku repeated, eyes narrowing on a rush of anger. Slavery was antithetical to the very core of a Jedi's character. He fought the emotion back with some difficulty and shook his head briskly. "You misunderstand. 'Master' is...well, a two-folded word. Jedi Master is a rank that I, Qui-Gon, everyone on the Council, we all have obtained. It indicates we have reached a mastery in the Force. But so far as you are concerned, it is simply a word for teacher. You are a padawan learner, I am your teacher, and so you should call me by the title 'master' as a matter of respect."

"Qui-Gon said you taught him," Anakin said after a moment. "That's worth being respectful about. Master."

Dooku lifted an eyebrow and said dryly, "I'm so glad you agree. Qui-Gon was my very first padawan, actually, a very long time ago."

Anakin's eyes widened a little. "This isn't like Master Yoda being several centuries old is it?"

Dooku almost laughed at that. "No, Master Yoda has gone well beyond most of the Order on that. I'm only in my seventies, thank you. I wasn't a great deal older than Qui-Gon when I started training him."

Anakin looked a bit sheepish. "Sorry. It's just, after that, I wasn't sure what you'd have meant by a long time."

"Jedi tend to take a...fairly long-term view of the universe. Some Jedi in particular focus too much on that to the exclusion of the moment."

"Oh. ...Why?"

"There are two aspects to the Force. The Unifying Force is concerned with the longer-term view. It will lend itself to visions of the future, for example. The Living Force is concerned with the here and now, the way beings interact with each other within the Force. Because it has smaller immediate influences, many discount it as being less significant than the Unifying Force. But that is simply a misunderstanding of the true nature of the Living Force."

Anakin frowned. "How could people inter... interacting with each other _not_ be important?"

"Not simply people, Padawan, but all beings in this universe. The interaction between two _insects_ still has an impact on the Force."

Anakin knew some people who were insects, but he figured Dooku... Master Dooku, all right then... probably meant the little kind that couldn't talk. "That sounds like it'd be really hard to keep track of."

"It is, but the benefits are more than worth it. For example, true mastery in the Living Force gives you an awareness of your own body and your opponent that can make you an exceptional duelist." A faint smile. "A particular hobby of mine."

"I like flying," Anakin offered somewhat uncertainly.

"You'll be amazed at how much your reflexes will improve with greater awareness of the Living Force, then."

"They're pretty good now. But that would be wizard."

Dooku smiled indulgently. "You'll find 'pretty good' for a civilian is generally far below even average for a Jedi."

Anakin shrugged. "Watto said humans weren't supposed to be able to podrace."

"Podrace?" Dooku repeated with a slight frown. He'd never heard of it. The border planets got to some odd practices sometimes. For that matter, he wasn't entirely sure _which_ planet his new padawan was from. Not that it mattered anymore, except that the boy had spent more time there than average. "Well, you won't have time for frivolous pursuits any longer. Jedi training is very rigorous. Now, we should--" He cut off with an impatient glance at the door as it chimed. "Come."

The door slid open to reveal Qui-Gon. Anakin made a sort of abortive leap upward that could almost have passed for takeoff, then settled back somewhat anxiously to sit cross-legged on the floor until Dooku stood up.

"Qui-Gon," Dooku said. "Did you need something?"

Qui-Gon smiled, eyes sliding off his former Master to rest on the boy. "I came to say goodbye to Anakin, actually. Obi-Wan and I have been ordered to Naboo."

"With Padmé?" Anakin asked eagerly. Qui-Gon chuckled softly. "With the entire royal entourage, yes. We've been ordered to escort the Queen back and try to investigate this Sith." Dooku didn't move a muscle, but his entire posture somehow shifted to alert and almost predatory. "Sith?"

Qui-Gon's eyes flicked back to Dooku, and he grew very serious. "Yes. I encountered a... warrior on Tatooine whom I believe to have been a Sith. He seemed to be pursuing Queen Amidala."

Dooku raised one eyebrow. "Did he."

"So it appeared. He suddenly appeared just as we were about to take off from Tatooine, actually. Anakin, the Queen's handmaiden Padmé, and I were all returning to the ship. I fought him, briefly. He carried a red-bladed lightsaber, and he was very good with it."

Dooku studied him for a moment. "I'm coming with you," he declared, and turned to Anakin. "You should p-- no, you haven't had a chance to _un_pack yet. Bring your kit. One moment," he added to Qui-Gon, and vanished into his bedroom. He returned carrying little more than when he'd left. Anakin wondered if he'd just stuck a toothbrush in his utility belt or something.

Qui-Gon was looking at him with a touch of bemusement. "Is this when I'm just supposed to nod and say 'Yes, Master'?" Dooku eyed him. "Yes. Set a good example for my new padawan."

"I'm fairly sure you are not assigned to this mission."

"I'm not assigned to any other one at the moment, either, and I ought to be on this one."

Qui-Gon hesitated only a moment more before shrugging and saying with a smile, "_I'm_ certainly not going to turn down your help investigating the Sith. And if he shows up again, I'd just as soon have your lightsaber beside me!"

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Boots thumped rhythmically against the marble floors of the Temple, with the faint _shush_ing of cloaks against the floor. One set of footsteps was lighter than the others, faster but more uncertain at the same time. Anakin trailed behind Dooku and Qui-Gon, trying to look like a proper Jedi Padawan, even if he had no idea what that meant, while he kept his ears open for the older Jedi's conversation.

"Let me guess," Dooku said after a few moments of silence. His face held a very faint smile. "They don't believe you about the Sith?"

Qui-Gon's mouth tightened. "Let's just say they think I'm mistaken in my interpretation of several matters lately."

Dooku glanced back at Anakin, who ducked his head and tried to pretend he wasn't listening. "I'm ...withholding judgment on the question of the Chosen One, at the moment. But a Sith threat is not something to take half-seriously."

"I assure you, I am taking it completely seriously. Obi-Wan and I can handle it. Not to say we won't appreciate your assistance. And your company."

Dooku hesitated minutely at that. "I believe you are taking it seriously," he said. "I don't believe the Council is."

"Judging by their not bringing you in to consult?" Qui-Gon asked with a grin, then threw up his hands at the look Dooku gave him. "I don't deny you're the undeniable expert, Master!"

"It might have been a good idea if they had," Dooku said somewhat sourly. "But somehow I suspect they think they are humoring you."

"Well, if so, we'll have a boring time watching Queen Amidala resolve a trade dispute. But a Sith's involvement would explain why the Trade Federation took such an extreme step as to blockade the planet militarily."

"Incidentally, is anyone doing something about that? We are not a military fleet."

"The Trade Federation maintains that their blockade is legal. While I cannot imagine this is within the intended spirit of the law -- unless they had a hand in it, I suppose -- I'm told they are technically correct, at least on the surface of things." Qui-Gon shrugged. "We are to protect the queen. She wishes to return to the planet, and she says she has a plan. That is up to her."

"Politicians!" Dooku sighed.

"Be nice," Qui-Gon chided. "Here we are." They exited onto a landing pad where a sleek ship was waiting.

Anakin bounced a little on his toes and said, "I'm going to say hi to Padmé!" before he ran ahead.

Dooku's eyes narrowed slightly, but he held his tongue. He would have to talk to Anakin about appropriate conduct, but -- he reminded himself -- it was only the boy's first day as a Jedi, never mind a Padawan, and this seemed to be more a case of exuberance than attempting to test his limits. At least the handmaiden he'd charged up to was either pleased to see him, or too kind to show she wasn't.

Qui-Gon conducted the necessary introductions. Obi-Wan lifted an eyebrow at seeing Dooku and Anakin joining them again, but he seemed amused. After they'd taken off, settled in, and had a brief war council with the queen, during which the Jedi politely ignored her reasonably subtle communication with the handmaidens, Dooku found himself alone with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, feeling vaguely unsettled. Not quite as if something was wrong, but more as if everything had suddenly been lifted out of his hands, given a good shake, and then handed back to him.

"I wonder," he murmured, "if I shall still have a padawan at the end of this, or if that... handmaiden is planning on carrying him away. I don't think he'd struggle very hard."

"They do seem to have become good friends," Qui-Gon said.

"However did they meet?" Dooku suddenly frowned, anger swirling around him almost palpably before he released it into the Force. "For that matter, how did _you_ meet? He said you _won_ him."

Qui-Gon blinked. Barely. "We were trying to buy parts to repair the queen's ship from a junk dealer who, as it turned out, owned Anakin and his mother. He wasn't willing to take Republic credits--"

"Of course not--" Dooku said.

"Yes, well. That was unsuccessful. Padmé first encountered Anakin during those, ah, negotiations. We were about to return to the ship when we received warning of a sandstorm, and Anakin kindly invited us to his home on the grounds that we wouldn't have time to reach the ship before it struck."

"Hrm. You said it was Tatooine? The Hutts." Dooku's mouth twisted. "Every time we think we've made progress on the slave trade..." He sighed.

"Yes." Qui-Gon grimaced.

Dooku sighed. "So. This... winning?"

"Anakin had built his own pod -- without Watto's knowledge. He suggested that I pass it off as mine so that he could use it in the next race, and to use the winnings for ship repair so we could get off the planet. The wager with Watto was that he would front the entrance fee, and would keep the ship if Anakin lost. If he won... Watto would keep the winnings, less the cost of repairs, and release Anakin to us." He paused. "I had hoped to free Shmi as well. His mother. But Watto wouldn't agree to both."

"...Perhaps something could still be arranged," Dooku murmured. The hereditary wealth of Serenno was not something he considered _his_, as a Jedi, but his relatives there did not consider him disinherited. They had appointed one of their number as a steward, who might listen to a word floated in the correct direction. "Still, betting all your hopes on a race." Dooku smiled suddenly. "I taught you well."

Qui-Gon broke into a grin. Obi-Wan looked rather as if Dooku had just reached over and squeezed his throat, though the only audible reaction was a slight cough. "I followed the guidance of the Living Force, Master," Qui-Gon said, his voice solemn but his eyes very bright. "Although despite Anakin's confidence, I do not believe Padmé approved of my wagering the ship."

"I doubt she relished the thought of telling her mistress she had allowed a crazy Jedi to gamble away her only means of transport."

"I imagine it could have been an unpleasant conversation, had it come up."

Obi-Wan made a muttered noise of agreement. Dooku looked over at him in amusement. "The Force provides, Obi-Wan. You just have to trust it."

Qui-Gon chuckled. "Obi-Wan keeps lecturing me on something called 'prudence'."

"An excellent quality," Dooku said cheerfully, "but what could be more prudent than to walk in the way the galaxy operates?"

Qui-Gon laughed. "It's good to have your company again, Master. I've missed it."

Dooku paused for a long moment before saying quietly, "I've missed you too."

Qui-Gon smiled very warmly and covered one of Dooku's hands briefly with his own. "Well, perhaps we'll be able to renew the relationship now. I have a new little brother to instruct on the proper care and feeding of a Dooku, after all!"

Dooku's small smile turned into a wince at this last, and Obi-Wan choked out, "The _what_?"

Qui-Gon laughed again. "Just a joke among former Dooku padawans, Obi-Wan. We like to make sure new padawans know how to do their job properly. Although I suppose technically it's Ilena's job to deliver the Talk this time."

Dooku sighed and leaned back, giving Qui-Gon a wry look before putting his attention on Obi-Wan. "Evidently I was a very trying Master, and future victims must be systematically warned."

And of course, then he noticed that the bright whirlpool in the Force that was Anakin was just at the door.

He didn't wince. Quite. He turned his attention to Anakin and beckoned him over. "Good day, Padawan. Are you finished visiting with the handmaidens?"

"Yes," Anakin said, "Master. " He was glittering with curiosity. Dooku blinked.

"Then come join us," Qui-Gon said easily. "I think we were about to start telling Obi-Wan stories on my apprentice days, so we might as well include you."

"Wizard!" Anakin grinned at him quickly. "I hope they make more sense than Padmé's," he said. "She told me Naboo's got so much water it goes right through the planet's core."

"That it does," Obi-Wan told him with a quick smile. "Qui-Gon and I piloted a ship right through it, and were nearly eaten in the process."

Dooku raised his eyebrows. "Clearly, I still haven't caught up on this story either. I knew about the core, but I was under the impression going _through_ it was... not generally advisable."

"You were under the right impression," Obi-Wan said.

"It was the fastest way, and we needed to reach the capital," Qui-Gon explained with a shrug. "The Gungans provided us with a guide and a ship, and the Force guided us."

"And he's not mentioning that he had to sedate the Gungan guide halfway through the trip!" Obi-Wan said. "I think they just wanted to be rid of him."

"He has his uses," Qui-Gon murmured. "That would be the Gungan I introduced you to, Master. Jar Jar Binks."

"Ah. Yes. Is courtesy likely to require mimicking his variant of Basic?"

"If so, I have been extremely discourteous."

"I'm sure some leniency would be extended during a learning period. He seemed fairly good-natured." Perhaps a little too much so.

"That he is." Qui-Gon's mouth was twitching as he looked at Obi-Wan. "Very much so."

"You might say that," Obi-Wan admitted. "Ah, you suggested stories from your apprenticeship, Master?"

"No scaring Anakin off," Dooku warned, not entirely teasing.

"Hey!"

Qui-Gon smiled. "I hardly think that's likely."

"I don't scare easily," Anakin said bravely, lifting his chin.

Dooku almost smiled as he looked at the boy. "Good. That will come in handy."

"And you tell _me_ not to scare him," Qui-Gon said with amusement. "Now, where shall I start..."

"Perhaps the time you nearly ended up married to the queen of Kenyon," Dooku suggested, his dark eyes glinting.

Obi-Wan choked. "What -- how --"

"That's what I'm going to tell you," Qui-Gon said.

"You've been remiss, Qui-Gon," Dooku chided, leaning back slightly. "He should've heard this long ago. I thought Mace told more stories on you than that."

"What's so bad about almost marrying the queen of Kenyon?" Anakin asked.

"For one thing, losing my first padawan to an accidental marriage would have been very embarrassing! For another, local customs are...interesting with regards to marriage. Qui-Gon would rather live a long life than a royal one, I think."

"Ooh," Anakin said. "Okay, that would be a problem."

"Yes, well, not all of us are born to royalty," Qui-Gon said dryly. Then he launched into the story with great animation.

Anakin was, Dooku noticed, a very _responsive_ listener when he chose to be. Qui-Gon seemed to be playing off him, becoming more expressive as a storyteller than usual.

Dooku couldn't quite help analyzing the story for how it presented him. Not too unkindly, really. A trifle stern, perhaps, but the lecture Qui-Gon received on their way off the planet had been richly deserved, Dooku felt to this day. And Qui-Gon seemed to acknowledge that in the telling, his voice full of self-deprecating humor. Besides, it wasn't a bad thing for the boy to learn his new Master expected him to toe the line...when he wasn't leading the charge over the line himself, at least.

Even Obi-Wan was laughing by the end of the tale, if only a bit, and he'd seemed unsure at the start whether to respond to the comic aspects or not. (Granted, some were comic only in retrospect and wouldn't have been the slightest bit funny if Qui-Gon had not survived, but that was always the way.) "It's a good thing he rescued you, Master."

"Well, if not, there'd be a great many little Jinns running around Kenyon now, but I think I prefer my life the way it is, thank you." Qui-Gon cast Obi-Wan an amused look. "I'd been saving that story for after your Knighting, actually. Ah well. I have enough stored up."

"I agree. You're hardly likely to run out." Dooku shook his head. "Whyever were you saving that one? It's hardly as if the subject matter is inappropriate for a Padawan's knowledge." His eyes glinted. "Fair warning, perhaps..."

Qui-Gon grinned. "Mostly because we _visited_ Kenyon about a year into training Obi-Wan, and we've been invited back several times since. I was afraid that if Obi-Wan knew the whole story, he would make me accept!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Obi-Wan murmured.

"Hah. You would have when you were sixteen, Padawan, and don't try denying it."

Obi-Wan looked as if he would very much like to deny it, but wasn't quite willing to do it right after being ordered not to.

Dooku arched an eyebrow. "Stars. Don't tell me the, er, invitation still stands?"

"I seem to have made a very good impression."

"I'm not entirely sure whether to be proud of you or deeply embarrassed."

Qui-Gon laughed. "I've fulfilled my duty as a padawan, at last."

Anakin looked confused. "You're supposed to embarrass your master?" He cast Dooku a wary look, as if he wasn't sure if the stern-looking man _could_ be embarrassed.

"What did I tell you about teaching him bad habits, Qui-Gon?" Dooku murmured.

Qui-Gon smiled and shook his head. "You are not, strictly speaking, supposed to embarrass him. But it usually seems to happen. I seem to recall mine suggesting it was a necessary lesson in humility."

Dooku sighed. "I never should have let you speak to him. I shudder to think what I'm in for now."

Qui-Gon laughed. "I beg your pardon. I spoke to him before you did."

"That's true. I suppose there's no hope now." Anakin tensed. "You're not going to say I can't talk to him now, are you?"

"What? ...No." Dooku turned to look fully at the boy. "It was a joke, Padawan. Qui-Gon would no more intentionally give you bad advice than I would." He wasn't sure what advice Qui-Gon _would_ give, especially about him; it troubled him that this 'care and feeding' talk was surrounded by so much (presumably humorous) secrecy.

"...Oh." The tension eased minutely. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure."

"You may find," Dooku said, "that you don't always have the opportunity -- between our duties, and his -- to speak to someone as much as you would like. There will probably be times on missions when we will need to give close attention to privacy, even secrecy, or when the need for diplomacy or complex etiquette will be far enough beyond your training at that point that it's simpler to remain quiet. But apart from those concerns, I'm not planning to restrict you from making friends or speaking with them." He glanced wryly over at his first Padawan. "There were missions where I barely had a chance to talk to Qui-Gon for how many new friends he was making."

Obi-Wan snorted. "I know the feeling."

Dooku flickered a smile at him. "I think Qui-Gon has heard life stories from enough people he's never seen again to populate a planet."

"I don't know," Qui-Gon said. "You might be surprised how many I've run across again unexpectedly."

"And he remembers _all_ of them," Obi-Wan sighed. "But then, if he didn't make a habit of picking up strays, you wouldn't have your padawan." He smiled over at Anakin, easier with the boy now that it wasn't his Master taking charge of him.

Anakin grinned. "Hey," he said. "Who's the stray here? _I_ was at home!"

"He has you there, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon laughed. "And I picked _you_ up as well, a long time ago, so I wouldn't think you'd complain."

Obi-Wan colored, very faintly, and Dooku sensed that he wanted to protest but there was something he didn't want to say in front of... it was either him or Anakin, presumably. Dooku suspected he knew what. "Actually, I heard you had to ask for him, in the end, Padawan Kenobi." He smiled faintly. "I admired your initiative."

Obi-Wan colored a bit more. "Er, thank you, Master Dooku." _Qui-Gon_ looked embarrassed now. "Well, I shouldn't have let it get to that point. Perhaps I should say he adopted me."

Dooku's mouth quirked. "It worked out in the end."

"Mm. Very well. I'm sure you and Anakin will work out just as well."

Dooku bowed slightly. "I sincerely hope so." A wry look at Anakin. "I had not actually planned to take another Padawan. I was somewhat surprised that the Council didn't bring that up as an argument."

"Probably because no one believed you'd stick to that for more than a year, given your history," Qui-Gon murmured. Anakin blinked at them both. "Why didn't you want to? And why _did_ you if you didn't want to?"

Dooku suppressed the impulse to flinch. True, he hadn't really wanted to discuss this -- with Anakin or anyone else -- and was as surprised by the Council not bringing up the _reason_ as by their not bringing up his intention. But it was fair for his new Padawan to have the information, even if it felt like prodding at an infected and open wound.

"It was not," Dooku said slowly, "exactly a case of not wanting to. I have always enjoyed teaching. One-on-one, as with a padawan learner, by preference. I felt drawn to you, most insistently, by the promptings of the Force -- which it is best to follow when one perceives them." He sighed. "I took you unexpectedly, but not unwillingly, understand that. The reason I had not planned to train another Padawan is that... I have had four, before you; three are Masters now in their own right, but the last one I failed, very severely. I found that I could not persuade her to take an interest in... ruling herself, in releasing her passions, rather than being ruled by them. I told the Council at last that I could not recommend her for the Trials, the transition from Padawan to Knight." He bowed his head. "And if that were not failure enough -- do you know of the Bando Gora?"

"Yeah," Anakin said, quietly. "Drug cult. Jabba doesn't like them, they've got something that hooks worse than anything he sells and turns people nasty. They've gotten a lot worse lately."

"They...ambushed a small group of Jedi who had been sent on a mission to deal with them. Komari...had somehow convinced them -- the Jedi, I mean -- to let her go with them. Possibly she told them the mission was to be her Trial. I don't know." He should know. He should have kept watch, should have been prepared for her to do something irrational when he'd just taken away all her dreams. He bowed his head. "The mission was a complete loss. Everyone was killed."

Anakin, when Dooku raised his eyes again, had gone pale. "Master Dooku," he whispered, "she might -- I mean, they -- their new leader --" He winced. "Her last name wasn't Vosa was it?"

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Her last name wasn't Vosa, was it?_

Dooku felt a chill sweep down his spine. "And how precisely would you know that?" "There's--" Anakin swallowed. "Jabba runs Mos Espa. Everybody talks about him and what he does. Watto complained about it a lot with some of his customers. I -- I remember them, when they talked about Jabba being mad about Bando Gora...they were saying it's because someone new has taken over. Komari Vosa."

Dooku leaned back, feeling his own cheeks blanch paler than Anakin's. He exerted himself for the discipline to breathe, when he began to feel dizzy. "Yes," he said slowly. "Her name was Vosa."

"Oh. Um..." Anakin looked at a loss as to what to do next. He looked down at his hands, then over at Qui-Gon entreatingly. "Thank you for the information, Anakin," Qui-Gon said quietly. "That's something we should check out." Wordlessly, he covered Dooku's hand with his for just a moment.

Dooku shuddered very slightly, and then carefully folded the shock and horror, regret and betrayal, all up inside and sat up again. (He was supposed to release them. He wasn't sure he could yet. He felt as frozen as when he had first heard she died, even though she was alive now. Only there was something blazing hot against one tiny part of his mind, bright and pulling without even knowing it, his new Padawan, and he was not altogether sure how to deal with this feeling when there was a live bond there.) "It is. A Jedi who has gone wrong is... extremely dangerous."

Anakin felt cold all over, even more than he had before during space travel. It seemed to be coming from inside him this time, and it was all the more unnerving for that. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, wishing heartily he'd never listened to gossip so he wouldn't have had to be the one to say that.

"Don't apologize for telling me," Dooku said quietly. "It's better to know the truth, even if it is a painful one." He paused and looked at the boy again. "If that was only an expression of sympathy, however, thank you."

Anakin looked down. "Um. If your old padawan is still alive, does that mean you can't have a new one now?"

"No. She was no longer my Padawan, before she left."

"...Oh. Good, then."

Dooku wasn't sure he would classify anything in this situation as "good," but he supposed it would be substantially more complicated (and probably, yes, even more unpleasant) if Anakin's status were somehow in question. He managed something that might have resembled a smile, decided it probably didn't, and let it go. "Well, at least you're not trying to get away from me."

"I want to be a Jedi," Anakin said quietly and uncomfortably. "No one else seems to want to let me."

"I'd hardly go that far. Qui-Gon at the least..." Dooku's smile was somewhat more worthy of the name this time. "But while I imagine Obi-Wan would pass the Trials -- not easily, or they'd hardly be Trials, but capably -- he hasn't taken them yet."

Obi-Wan shifted a little where he sat. "That's a while off yet."

Dooku glanced at Qui-Gon. "As you say."

"So you can only have one padawan at a time, right?" Anakin asked. "Why?"

"There are lessons that are conducted in groups," Dooku said, "but the process of learning to be a Jedi, in the end, seems to be best conducted through an apprenticeship -- one apprentice to one master, with a shared responsibility to the Force and to the galaxy as partners, and with the master's full attention as a teacher given to one apprentice."

"...Okay. What kind of classes? I -- I never went to school or anything. I learned how to fix things at Watto's, and Mom taught me how to read and stuff."

"From what I've been told of your mechanical skills, you may find yourself fairly advanced already with respect to the mechanics, electronics, and other technological classes. There are several other academic topics -- history, literature, mathematics, cultural studies, sciences -- on which you're likely to need remedial work, some for the information content and some for the thought processes, how to find and apply the information. And then there is the training in the Force -- in its perception, guidance, use, philosophy; how to school your mind and body in harmony with it."

Dooku smiled faintly. "That last I will handle, unless there's a specific area you wish to seek another specialist for. You will have to work very hard for those; you are naturally very strong in the Force, but have not had the specialized training in physical, mental, and emotional discipline that most Jedi would have been learning for six years by your age. And... many of those are not easy. Were not easy, for me, even at the age supposed to be ideal for them. It's always the ones we need most that are hardest to learn."

The smile grew a little pained and then fell away; he stopped and drew a long breath. "For most of the academic subjects, you will also be... catching up. We'll have to determine at what level you need to begin, and where it would benefit you to sit in classes and where it would be better to introduce topics at whatever pace you can absorb them. Some of them I can tutor you in." The smile came back, just a little. "It sounds as if you've probably outstripped me in practical applications of the technological fields."

Anakin blinked a few times, settling back a bit and tilting his head a little as if he was trying to swallow something entirely too large for this throat. "I -- o-kay." His voice was a little tentative. "I can do all that. No problem."

Dooku mentally reviewed what he'd just said and summoned a reassuring tone, even if he couldn't quite manage a cheerful expression. "I'm sorry. It wasn't meant to sound that daunting," he said. "In short: you're starting your training several years later than is currently normal for a Jedi. You'll find that you have a great deal more practical experience in some areas than your peers, but that they will take for granted other things you've never had occasion to think of before. There are things you'll need to catch up on." A wry smile. "It will not be easy. But it won't be impossible either. Making sure of that is now one of my primary purposes in life."

"Are you going to be making sure it's not impossible, or that it's not easy?"

"Both," said three voices at once, Obi-Wan with a bit of a laugh.

Anakin managed a grin at that, if a small one. "Okay. I guess I can handle that. Nothing worth doing is _easy_, anyway."

Dooku smiled back, for real this time. "That's the idea. Not that you should dismiss the things that do come easily or naturally to you, but if all your training were easy I would be doing you and the galaxy a disservice -- not letting you reach your potential."

Anakin grinned, but after a moment he bit his lip and looked down, then up again with his face set and his eyes urgent. "When I'm a Jedi... can I go back home and free the slaves? I thought Master Qui-Gon was there to do it, but...if I'm going to be a Jedi, I can do it. Right?"

"...Maybe," Dooku said. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan both looked faintly startled, which he marked as an accomplishment. "That would be a worthwhile task that is not only difficult, but maddeningly complicated. People have been working on it quite literally for centuries. Slavery is illegal in the Republic, but this only means people can be punished for it if caught, not that it doesn't exist. Tatooine is supposed to be part of the Republic but in practical terms is controlled by the Hutt Empire, which does permit slavery." He rested one elbow on the back of the seat, turning toward Anakin. "The Jedi, due to a voluntary alliance with the government of the Republic, have a great deal more authority and standing within that Republic than we otherwise might, but part of the price is to have almost none elsewhere. It may be possible to guide Tatooine back toward greater participation in the Republic, and perhaps from there to enforcing the clause against slaveholding. Changing the habits of the Hutt Empire..." He sighed. "I think that would be the work of someone very persuasive, and with a lifetime longer than any of us are likely to have."

"Persuasive?" Anakin repeated, looking vaguely horrified. "But -- Jedi have lightsabers and special powers! Can't you just go in and _make_ them free the slaves?"

"Not without causing a great many deaths," Dooku said bluntly. "And I don't mean only the slaveholders. There are, all told, about ten thousand Jedi. We cannot be everywhere, and we cannot do everything. We could not, for instance, disable all the explosive devices used as 'restraints' before some individuals, yet beyond our reach, might choose to blame their slaves for our efforts or kill them simply because they preferred that to letting them be freed." He grimaced. "And if you meant the Hutt Empire, the attempt would probably start a war -- which the Republic would almost certainly lose."

"...I thought the Jedi were supposed to be able to do anything. What's the point of learning all that stuff if you can't even help people?"

"We can help people. But we do have limits, even if they're often in different places from other people's."

Anakin frowned and looked down. He fiddled with the edge of his tunic while he thought. When he looked up again, he met Dooku's eyes and asked very seriously, "But if you train me, I'll be able to help more?"

"That is a Jedi's mission. We serve the Force, and also the Republic through it. Which means we serve life, first and foremost, and we protect it the best we can."

Anakin nodded slowly. "That sounds like it's worth doing."

Dooku nodded in return. "If I didn't believe it to be worth doing," he said, "I would have left the Order."

Although sometimes it was hard to keep thinking that, after Galidraan, his failure with Komari, Baltizaar... Sometimes he felt as if he was balanced on a knife-edged precipice. One more disaster and he might... Well, it wasn't as if that was a consideration now. He had a padawan to take care of, one who would require special care. Anything but average.

Qui-Gon cast him a sideways look, as if he knew the gloomy path Dooku's thoughts had momentarily taken. "It's hard and dangerous work. Sometimes it's boring and extremely unglamorous. But every Jedi will agree it's worth it, even on our worst days."

"I'll try and be really good at it," Anakin promised soberly.

"I won't let you be less," Dooku told him. He would not fail this one. "I will train you to be the best possible Jedi you can be."

Anakin smiled a little at that. "Well," he said, looking over at Qui-Gon, "it sounds like you did a really good job with him."

"I'll introduce you to the others once we're back at the Temple again," Qui-Gon promised, eyes twinkling. "Mr'tan and Ilena Xan. You'll like them both. Mr'tan spends much of his time off-planet on missions, like Obi-Wan and I do, but Ilena is one of the class instructors. Hand-to-hand combat. She only just took over, but she's becoming infamous among the initiates already, I understand!"

"And how I trained someone who decided to specialize in unarmed combat is a mystery to all," Dooku added. "Given Anakin's mechanical talents, I suppose the only remaining surprise would be to have one turn out a Healer."

"Why is it a mystery she'd specialize in unarmed combat? Do you not like it or something?"

"I'm not opposed to it, and it certainly has its uses. But I prefer a more...elegant solution, where possible. Lightsaber combat is what marks a Jedi."

"Master Dooku and Master Yoda," Qui-Gon explained, "are the best lightsaber duelists in the Temple. And also among the best at not having to use them." He eyed Dooku with some amusement. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you and Master Yoda go at it..."

"We haven't dueled for a long time. I don't think I'd ever want to go against him seriously. I have no doubt he's as capable of trouncing me as anyone else in the Temple."

"No one in their right mind would want to go against him seriously! Arguing with him is more than enough."

"At least he listens. Sometimes."

"He didn't want to listen about _me_," Anakin grumbled.

"...He disagreed. It isn't always the same as not listening." Dooku looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, I have to admit, it would be fairly problematic to fit you into the training programs without someone dedicated to individual work. There are a number of programs to deal with species whose developmental processes are drastically different from those shared by humans, and there is tutoring and some adjustment available for individual variations, but the relative uniformity has allowed them to become really very rigid. Too much so, probably. It's good for them to be shaken up periodically, but it shouldn't be done at your expense. I think this will work out much better." A faint smile. "And he did concede eventually. The Council couldn't prevent me from taking you as my Padawan, but they -- or he, specifically -- could have made it much more difficult."

"What makes him so important?"

"Ah." Dooku smiled. "For one thing, he is the head of the Jedi High Council, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, and thus officially in the highest place among the Jedi. For another, he is the Council member I personally most respect. Third..." The smile deepened just a little. "He is almost entirely unconcerned with personal dignity, and I can imagine him doing any number of bizarre things to disrupt the proceedings if he really wanted to."

Anakin grinned a little at that. "He sounds like he could be fun... some of the time." "He is. Although I was first apprenticed to another Master, he took over the bulk of my training when I was young."

Anakin blinked. "That's not how it sounded like it was supposed to happen."

"Any Jedi may assist in the training of another, although it's poor manners to do so over a Master's objection, of course. Transfers are rarer. You will very likely be trained in at least some respects by other Jedi before you are Knighted. I cannot be an expert in every area--" "He admits it," Qui-Gon murmured with laughing eyes. Dooku eyed him briefly and continued, "And so you may take training from others. As I mentioned, your mechanical abilities appear to be quite high, so you may study under another Jedi who is more skilled in that. Master Thame was much occupied with his historical research, so I sought out a great deal of other training on my own."

"And I believe you suggested once that Master Thame was, ah, older than would have been ideal for taking another Padawan," Qui-Gon murmured. "Although that was some time ago..."

"He was mostly retired from missions. Master Yoda's duties were also mostly at the Temple. Both were likely to be called on, when they did leave, for situations deemed unsuitable for a Padawan. I didn't get off planet much." A quick look at Anakin. "Which will not happen with you, I assure you. I believe in my apprentices taking an active part in my missions."

"I saw Master Qui-Gon fighting the Sith," Anakin said. "I'll try if you want me to but I think I'd have a better shot against the Trade Federation fleet."

Dooku almost smiled. "I expect my padawans to be an active part of our missions, to the extent their training allows. At this stage in your training, you'll mostly be observing. I assure you, if the Sith appears again, I expect you to stay out of the fighting. You'd be more hindrance than help without proper training."

"...Okay." Anakin shivered a little. The chill inside him had faded from being painful and numbing at the same time (which didn't seem fair) to something much less, although he still kept stopping himself from poking at it. You weren't supposed to poke at sore places unless you knew what you were doing. But he thought the Sith had looked right at him once, and it wasn't as if he'd never met anybody with yellow eyes before but something about those...

"We'll find a safe place for you once we're on the planet. I don't expect you to be involved in the battle. Once we're back at the Temple, I'll begin your lessons, starting with self-defense." Dooku smiled this time. "And we'll get started constructing your lightsaber. I always enjoy that part."

Anakin's eyes lit up at that last -- lightsabers were _totally_ wizard. And how he'd spotted Qui-Gon. "I'd like to help if I can do anything though..."

"Much of that will depend on the Queen's plan, and how the Gungans react. We'll see."

That got a blink. Of course the voices and accents were wildly different, but Dooku had hit one of his mom's tones exactly. And Anakin was pretty sure it meant the same thing. "Yes, Master."

...It was kind of comforting, really.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"I warned you."

"I know."

"_He_ warned you."

"I _know_." Dooku's tone was aggrieved. "But I didn't take 'he's a good pilot' and a joke as meaning he was going to steal a ship and lead the attack against the entire Trade Federation fleet!"

Dooku's voice rose sharply by the end, causing Queen Amidala -- still dressed as the handmaiden Padmé from when she led the assault on the palace -- to look up at him. She was exuberant (for Naboo, at least), although fortunately she'd confined her hugs to Anakin and left the rest of the Jedi alone.

Dooku eyed his new padawan, who was by now describing the space battle with great animation. When the three Jedi had emerged from the palace bowels where they had fought and dispatched the Sith, Dooku had hardly been expecting to see his padawan carried on the shoulders of a throng of cheering pilots heading toward the Queen. (Nor, from her expression, had she.) He had certainly not expected to hear that his quick instruction to Anakin to stay out of the way had led him into the middle of the space battle.

And nothing could have prepared him for hearing his nine-year-old padawan had destroyed the entire fleet!

"Cheer up," Qui-Gon said under his breath. "It's hair-raising, certainly, but clearly the Force was with him. And we did want the result." A thoughtful pause. "And it might fall under our mandate to defend the Queen. Or at least be wedged under it."

"Or else I've drafted yet another padawan into defiance of the Council," Dooku suggested dryly, seeming to brighten a bit.

"Oh, good, it did cheer you up."

"You two have a very odd idea of fun," Obi-Wan observed from beside them. The younger man appeared more shaken by the battle than the elder two. Perhaps because he'd not faced the Dark Side as many times as they had, perhaps because his lightsaber had actually dealt the fatal blow. But he too seemed to be taking strength and peace from the celebration around them.

Dooku smiled wryly. "Truth to tell, arguing with the Council is often more frustrating than fun, but when the subject is important..."

"Speaking of which, we should notify the Council of what's happened here," Qui-Gon said. "I wonder if the Sith's body can be retrieved from that shaft. We may be able to learn something from it."

Obi-Wan looked slightly green at that. Dooku added gently to him, "You did very well. Sometimes there are other priorities than precision strikes."

"For just a moment," Obi-Wan said slowly, his eyes very far away, "I was positive I saw the Sith strike Master Qui-Gon. Then I blinked and it went away."

Dooku paled, very slightly, himself. "That would be unsettling."

"I'm fine," Qui-Gon said firmly, setting a reassuring hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "You don't get rid of me that easily! Although I am very glad the two of you were there. I wouldn't have wanted to face that thing alone." His voice rose slightly with a measurable increase in cheer. "Ah, here's the hero of the hour!"

Anakin burst towards them, grinning widely. "Did you hear? That was _wizard_! I was up in _space_, and I didn't really know what I was doing, but then the ship started working right, and I blew the whole thing up!" Anakin had reached them by this point, but his exuberance carried him right to his new Master's side. He hugged Dooku happily, his whole being radiating cheer and accomplishment.

Dooku didn't start, but he froze very briefly in sheer astonishment. He was of course familiar with the concept, but Jedi did not, by and large, _hug_ all that much. Yoda had done it before. With previous Padawans, they'd perhaps held on to each other a bit more than was strictly necessary for support or warmth in various situations. But this was different.

--On the other hand, "I didn't really know what I was doing" didn't sound like the boy was exactly getting a swelled head, and it was an accomplishment; they were all alive, and trying to put aside the embrace would be no more dignified and possibly a good deal more problematic in future than returning it. He wrapped an arm around Anakin's shoulders.

...Also, it felt very nice.

"You did very well, I hear. I'll want a full report of what happened later, once you've calmed down a bit."

Anakin grinned up at him. "Yes, Master. All you want."

Dooku squeezed, just a little, rather experimentally. It turned warm quickly. "It's been quite a day for Padawans. Obi-Wan struck the final blow against the Sith."

"Only because he couldn't guard against all three of us," Obi-Wan demurred. "The battle was yours, really. Any of us could have struck the final blow."

"Perhaps, but you are nevertheless the one who did." Dooku's mouth quirked. "Which I freely admit was a relief." He looked down at Anakin. "I was too pressed to think of the space battle much, though I think if I'd known you were in it...!"

Anakin grinned. "I didn't _mean_ to be, but you just told me to stay in the cockpit and I did!"

Dooku only half suppressed the smile. "I hope you are not planning to interpret all my instructions quite so creatively."

"I wasn't really trying to," Anakin repeated, letting go of Dooku to shrug a little, still grinning. "The ship got on auto-pilot or something, and by the time Artoo figured out how to put it back on manual, I was already with the fleet. I figured if I was _there_, I might as well help out."

"Indeed you did." Dooku found to his surprise that he missed the hug, so he set a hand on Anakin's shoulder for a moment. Autopilot did make some sense of the situation. He didn't care for the practice, but there were a number of groups that used it for formation flight.

"Yeah. I crashed inside one of the big ships, and I blew it up from the inside!" Anakin bounced a little on his toes. "Padmé -- I mean Queen Amidala said she's going to have to give me a _medal_ or something!"

"That would seem very likely, yes."

"Wow," Anakin breathed.

"Jedi," Dooku murmured to him, "must be on our guard not to be motivated by gifts or recognition." He let that sink in for a moment. "That said, recognition is undeniably often pleasant when it happens. Be gracious. Try not to become injured if she hugs you again while wearing one of her more architectural garments."

"I still can't believe Padmé's really the _queen_. She looks a lot nicer just dressed normal, though."

"I agree. I don't think Naboo royal costuming is exactly designed to set off the human form. I don't mean it fails to do so; I mean I doubt that's the intent." He smiled wryly. "I could be wrong, however, so I don't recommend mentioning it."

"Perhaps I should leave you two to deal with the Queen," Qui-Gon said in amusement, "while I go make our report to the Council. They'll be eager to know what's happened."

Dooku's mouth curved. "I would like to hear their reactions to that report," he murmured.

A half-bow. "Then I'll be sure to record it. But _someone_ must remain with the Naboo. It's only polite. Your padawan is the hero of the hour, so I'm afraid it falls to you."

"A recording would be much appreciated. And I suppose they will complain about my haring off when they see me."

"They'll always have something to complain about with you, my Master." Qui-Gon bowed again and took Obi-Wan off to make the report.

Dooku looked down at Anakin. "I am glad you're safe, Padawan," he said quietly.

"I wasn't trying to get in trouble, Master, honest. It all just kind of...happened."

"I know." He did. Although he also had to add, "However, I also know that you are powerful enough in the Force, even untrained, that it's more than possible your desire to help, to be involved, and to fly had a considerable influence on events. Today... you flew with the Force, and it was good. It also illustrates the need to learn how to recognize and control your desires and the influence you can exert through them. When to do that, and when to let go, and when they are not the same thing. Because for all of us there are days when some of the things we want will not be in such close harmony with what we need to do." A small smile. "But today? Today, for you, was both. Remember it. I think that experience will be of far more value to you in years to come than any medal."

Anakin nodded, trying to look appropriately somber and thoughtful. "I'll try to remember, Master. It's...it all sounds like an awful lot. I know how to fly and fix things, but...what if I can't do all the other stuff?"

"I think you will find that you can," Dooku said firmly. "If it will reassure you, I will point out that a skilled pilot and mechanic would have little trouble finding a career elsewhere, should you ever choose to seek one. But I have no doubt that you will be a very capable Jedi."

"I dreamed I was a Jedi once. It seems a lot harder in person."

A soft sigh. "Yes. I imagine it does." Dooku closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to look down into bright blue ones. "The world... does not always run as it should, and though we are here to help it do so, we can't always fix everything. That will always be a hard thing. It should be, though we must live with it all the same. And yet... the training, the discipline, the study of oneself and the Force... is all toward the aim of reaching _regularly_ the harmony of self and Force, purpose and action that you were living today." He stopped and let out the rest of his breath, drawing another long one before he added, "Although I will also admit that I feel as if finding out what you'd been up to turned more of my hair white."

Anakin looked at him worriedly for a second, then relaxed and grinned, craning his neck to look up at his new master. "It still looks the same to me. Maybe I should try again and see if it really works."

Dooku snorted quietly and smiled back. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure it will go before too much longer."

"I don't know, you don't seem that old."

"Thank you," Dooku said, glancing up as a handmaiden (a real one, not Padmé) and a pilot approached. "I'll try to keep that up. --And I believe someone is looking for you."

"Oh!" Anakin beamed and bounced a little, starting to rush over to them to burst out his story one more time. But he forced himself to stop and look back at Dooku, trying very hard to look like Obi-Wan did. "May I be excused, Master?"

Dooku smiled again, and let the approval thread across their bond. It was too early to take this sort of behavior for granted, given Anakin's distinctly non-Jedi background. "You may. --I think I may go and account for my behavior to the Council. I'll find you afterward."

Anakin blinked and looked started, cocking his head a little to the side. But then he shook his head briskly and grinned. "All right. Thanks!' And he darted off with the pilot, hands flying and eyes alight.

Dooku hesitated briefly, then opened himself up a little more to the scintillating joy just against his mind. Which was probably why he was still smiling when he walked into the room where Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were giving their report.

Qui-Gon looked up as he entered, lifted an eyebrow at the smile, and said smoothly, "And I believe those are all the insights I can offer, Masters. But Master Dooku has just arrived with more, perhaps."

Dooku took the vacated place at the comm pickup and bowed. "Masters."

"Done well, I hear your new apprentice has." Yoda leaned forward against his stick.

"He acquitted himself quite well. The Force was with him."

"Very busy you both have been, on a mission not assigned to you!"

"We needed to be here," Dooku said quietly.

"Hrmph!" Yoda said decisively. "And yet Obi-Wan, it was, who struck the final blow against the Sith. Not the work of a padawan, that is."

Dooku smiled. More. "I'm inclined to agree," he said. "Is this a subject on which Qui-Gon has previously offered his insights?"

"I _was_ waiting to present my petition in person, as is traditional," Qui-Gon pointed out dryly. "Not to mention present it without its subject standing right next to me. But since you've brought it up, my Masters, I would like to petition for my padawan learner, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to be Knighted based on his extraordinary performance against the Sith warrior."

Obi-Wan made a noise strikingly similar to someone who had just been punched in the stomach.

"Maybe you were right to plan on waiting," Dooku murmured. "It looks as if the subject of your petition might offer the only objection to it."

"I'm not going to _object_!" Obi-Wan protested. "I'm ready. I just... wasn't expecting..." He swallowed and bowed to Qui-Gon. "Thank you, Master."

Qui-Gon smiled. "It's warranted. Master Dooku is correct that you could have taken the Trials before now. You're still learning, but so are we all."

Yoda looked around the Council circle, then nodded decisively. "Need discussion, this does not. Confer on you the rank of Jedi Knight, the Council does. Congratulations, Knight Kenobi."

Obi-Wan bowed, trying not to stammer, and then sank with some relief to his knees as Qui-Gon, smiling, ignited his lightsaber to cut the braid.

Dooku was smiling almost as broadly as Qui-Gon while Obi-Wan recited his new oath and was invited to rise as a Knight of the Republic. He did so a little shakily, touching the place where his braid had been lightly. Yoda smiled at him, then returned to business. "More about this Sith we must learn. Always two there are, no more, no less."

"But which was killed?" Mace added, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "The Master or the Apprentice? That is what we must learn, and find the second."

"We plan to inquire about retrieving the body of this one from the shaft it fell into, if possible." Dooku grimaced slightly. "I'm not altogether sure what was at the bottom. If it's in recognizable condition, I somehow doubt they want it fouling their systems."

"Good. We may learn something from the body. But we must devote all our resources to learning the identity of the second Sith. We will speak with you more when you have returned from Naboo."

They barely had time to bow before the transmission ended.

"All?" Dooku asked the air where Mace's hologram had been. "Serious as the situation is, I hope he doesn't mean that literally."

"I doubt it," Qui-Gon said. "He said as much about discovering the identity of this Sith. But that was before they believed me that it was a Sith." He looked over at his former apprentice and grinned. "Now that we're through being dignified, there's something else I have to do." And he hugged Obi-Wan tightly.

Even with the warning, it took Obi-Wan a little time to respond, too. He wasn't much more accustomed to hugging than Dooku; Qui-Gon, with not only a strong connection to the Living Force but a much more flexible level of reserve, had always been rather more inclined to it.

Dooku didn't think Obi-Wan was minding it any more than he had, though.

"Congratulations, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said when he finally released his old apprentice. "You've deserved this for quite some time, but I just couldn't bring myself to let you go."

"I wasn't in that much of a hurry myself," Obi-Wan admitted.

"I was wondering how long he was going to make you wait," Dooku murmured. He bowed slightly. "Congratulations, Knight Kenobi."

"Thank you, Master Dooku." Obi-Wan returned the bow, a little deeper. His hand twitched minutely as he straightened.

Dooku's mouth quirked. "And yes, you'll probably spend the next several days wanting to feel behind your ear."

Obi-Wan smiled. "At least it's not an isolated feeling. Thank you."

"Mmm. You should know, incidentally, that a certain former padawan of mine complained to no end about my 'Trialing him after the fact'. You seem not to mind."

Qui-Gon covered his eyes. "I should have known you'd bring that up."

"Of course you should! Mind, I'll still maintain it was justified..."

"Well, as I said, I should've recommended Obi-Wan long ago. But I could hardly ignore a padawan helping to defeat a Sith." He smiled fondly at Obi-Wan. "It wasn't just that I wanted to get rid of you."

Obi-Wan's mouth twitched a bit. "As you say, Master," he said, "if you'd just wanted to get rid of me you could have done it sooner."

"You say that like that's the reason _I_ did it," Dooku muttered.

Obi-Wan turned toward him, alarmed. "But I didn't--"

"Not you," Dooku said hastily. "I meant him."

"I didn't mean anything by it, Master," Qui-Gon said. "It was time for you to be a Master officially."

It took Dooku several seconds to find his voice again. "I beg your pardon!"

"What? It was! You'd more than earned it by then. I know it was difficult being taken seriously as just a Knight sometimes."

"That is not why I knighted you!"

"I'm not saying I wasn't ready. Just -- I know you were eager."

Dooku only looked at him for a long moment. At last he said, "I admit that patience was not one of my strengths at that point." Whether it was _now_ might still be a matter for debate. "But I was not trying to... rush you through the steps. I truly deemed you to have earned it." A very tiny curl of one corner of his mouth, that was not really a smile. "I also felt, at the time, that I could no longer justify calling myself your master. It seemed you had reached or surpassed me in too many ways."

"I certainly didn't feel as if I had. But...thank you."

"I felt I was ready to teach an eleven-year-old when I was first Knighted myself," Dooku said, "but I'm afraid it didn't occur to me at the time that I might feel somewhat less prepared to teach an adult ten years later."

"How could you feel prepared so early?" Obi-Wan spoke up, interrupting the tension that had suddenly built between the two Masters. "I don't feel ready to teach someone for, oh, five years at least! I couldn't imagine picking someone up next month."

"Or even earlier," Qui-Gon murmured with a smile.

"Well, I don't think I would have been prepared to walk into the Council chamber and demand a Padawan with an unusual background whose suitability for the Order was in dispute," Dooku said, "but I had been watching Qui-Gon for months at that point, and very much wanted to train him. I had also spent those months nearly convinced that someone else would snap him up before I was even permitted to ask." A faint smile of his own. "Perhaps some of my... readiness was overconfidence. But I never could manage to regret it if so."

"You always seemed to know exactly what you were doing," Qui-Gon assured him. "I tried to imitate that when I took my own padawans. I don't think I was as good at it as you were."

Dooku huffed out a soft laugh. "You mentioned that I was concerned about being taken seriously. I think I was most worried about that with you."

Qui-Gon laughed out loud. "As if that were ever a problem!"

"Wasn't it?"

"Of course not. You were everything a Jedi Master was supposed to be. I was terribly intimidated by you." Qui-Gon grinned and clapped Obi-Wan on the shoulder. "I think he's fishing for compliments. Perhaps we should go back and join the party, since you have something else to celebrate."

Obi-Wan grinned back. "Which I expect to be asked about, because around here, someone will wonder why I changed my hair."

"It's not a very great change, to someone not familiar with the Jedi." Qui-Gon rubbed a hand over the place the braid had hung ruefully. "But I confess it's a very great change to me."

"He may have a point about it being noticed here," Dooku murmured after a moment's silence. "Let's go find out."

As it happens, it didn't take very long, but the first person to comment was not from Naboo. They were tackled almost as soon as they rejoined the crowd by a nine-year-old whirlwind who hugged Dooku again, then narrowed his eyes at Obi-Wan. "Hey, no fair! _He_ said I _had_ to wear a silly braid if I want to be a padawan. How come you got to cut yours off?"

Obi-Wan was too busy laughing at the description, so Qui-Gon answered for him, "Obi-Wan has been Knighted, before the Council, and is a padawan no longer. I'm afraid that no matter how great your accomplishments you aren't qualified to be Knighted on a day's training, so you will have to wear the 'silly braid' for a few years more."

"Oh!" Anakin beamed and let go of Dooku to jump over and hug Obi-Wan. "That's great! I don't have to call you Knight Kenobi now, do I?"

"Whoa!" First it was Qui-Gon, now a much smaller but very exuberant person with momentum. Obi-Wan caught him and hugged back. "No, thank you, you can still call me Obi-Wan."

"Good. 'Knight Kenobi' sounds all stuffy anyway." Anakin grinned at him. "This is a pretty good day, huh?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said quietly. "It is a good day."

"A very good one." Testing, again, Dooku laid his hands on Anakin's shoulders. The boy was very nearly vibrating with excitement. "Perhaps we should pay our regards to the Queen."

Anakin _bounced_ under his hands at that. Dooku could feel the energy running currents through him, and wondered how long the Living Force would support him and when it would demand its due in rest. He blinked away a sudden flickering image of Anakin curled up asleep under an extra cloak, and sent him onward with a tiny nudge, following with longer strides.

The Queen received them graciously, thanking them for their aid and offering them Naboo's hospitality for as long as they wished it. They agreed to stay for as long as a celebration the following day. Dooku already felt himself chafing to leave this place and get on with actually training his new padawan, but the boy was the hero of the hour and it would hardly be gracious to leave.

The make-shift celebration seemed set to last until dawn, but Anakin's exuberance couldn't last that long. Dooku lost sight of him when conversing with the governor. When he tracked him down again, he found the boy curled up on a bench in the corner, heedless to the celebration all around him. Dooku found himself smiling, just a little. He took his cloak off and wrapped it around the boy, who was shivering in the night air. Then he picked his new padawan up and bore him off to bed.

He wondered as he did so just what new challenges this small life would bring to his. But he had the feeling, as Anakin turned his head against Dooku's chest and muttered sleepily, that they would all be worth it.

* * *


End file.
